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Grand Rapids Public school goes virtual this week due to COVID-related staffing shortage

Harrison Park Academy is switching to remote learning for the rest of the week as district officials explore new state guidelines on isolation periods.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The hallways at Harrison Park Academy in Grand Rapids will stay empty for the rest of the week, as dozens of students and teachers are out due to COVID-19. 

"[This is] one of the most challenging months as we started back to school in recent history," Executive Director of Communications and External Affairs John Helmholdt says. 

Roughly 23 percent of teachers, 50 percent of paraprofessionals, 50 percent of secretaries and 33 percent of school administration are out due to positive cases, close contacts or pending results. 

There weren't enough substitute teachers to take over at the Pre-K through eighth grade, so students will be logging on at home and returning after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"We have invested in the tech so we are a one-to-one device district, and we have personal wireless hotspots, so we're more well prepared to flip to virtual than ever before," Helmholdt says.

He calls the situation a staffing shortage that's being seen everywhere. Now, the district is weighing how it will comply with the latest state guidelines on isolation periods.

"In this case, this is the first time we're questioning our ability to implement this, based on capacity of nurses in contract tracing and reporting that goes with that," Helmholdt says.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is aligning with the CDC, saying that COVID-positive students and teachers can isolate for just five days instead of ten days if their symptoms improve and they can wear a well-fitted mask for the next five days.

Close contacts wouldn't need to quarantine if they're vaccinated, have recently had COVID-19 or if they test negative.

"Now that the window is shortened, that might mean there's more frequent communication and more tightened turnaround in communication, and I think that's something we're struggling to keep up with," Helmholdt says.

District officials plan to make a public announcement once they reach their decision. 

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